The One Who Creates and The One Who Destroys
by EmTheProcrastinator
Summary: An Akuma known as Parallelo Gram sends Ladybug and Chat Noir into a different world while trying to make their current one perfect for her own grandchildren. Will Ladybug and Chat Noir be able to make it back home to make things right? What will they do in the new world and can they keep their true identities hidden? What will Hawkmoth do, unable to obtain the duo's Miraculous?
1. Prologue: Equivalent Exchange

When Chat Noir jumped in front of Ladybug he was expecting to save her or at least block the oncoming hit. However, he gasped as it went straight through him as well as his partner who shouted in surprise.

He felt himself go limp, everything going dark for just a moment, white flashing in front of him before he was staring up at the sky once again. He only heard a soft thud one moment later as his Lady fell as well, but it wasn't on the pavement where they were standing moments before, the sound wasn't as hard hitting as it should be, it was almost padded.

As the thought crossed his mind he hesitantly felt the ground, feeling the small blades of grass as he brushed his glove past it, forcing himself right back up.

It all happened so fast that he was honestly unsure if he had been knocked out briefly or only fell.

Their surroundings didn't resemble the city of Paris, nor anywhere he's seen.

It was a small countryside village full of hills and valleys, a small creek not too far off from them and just a few houses down the way.

"My Lady?" He hesitantly began, glancing to the side and relaxing a bit as he saw Ladybug beside him.

She drew her hand up to her head and gently pressed it against her temple, glancing over at Chat Noir before tensing, taking in their surroundings.

"I don't think we're in Paris anymore…" She sighed and shook her head, slowly standing up and dusting the dirt off her suit.

She takes a moment to briefly check that she had everything on her, yoyo included, and stretched before she continued, "We need to get back and fast. That akuma is still out there."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Ladybug, but…" Chat's words dropped off for a moment as he noticed her exasperated expression. She knew as well as he did, that it might not exactly be the easiest thing to accomplish.

The akuma they had been facing moments ago had gone by 'Parallelo Gram', apparently her blasts would send you into a parallel dimension, so she could create the perfect world for her grandkids, where there was no fighting, bullying or mean people. One of her grandchildren had gone to her crying because of a bully from school and of course it angered the grandmother, who wouldn't be a little upset to find out there were kids making someone you cared about feel so down?

Hawkmoth presented her with the arrangement to make things right for her grandkids in exchange for Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous.

Oh, speaking of, how happy would Hawkmoth be? To find out the thing he was after was now possibly lost in another universe? Probably not very happy.

"Before we do anything, we need to find out where we are." Ladybug gripped her yoyo in her hand and opened it up, planning on using the little mapping tool and GPS function, however to her surprise it showed they were somewhere in Germany, the map was fuzzy and incomplete, more than likely the whole dimension hop had messed with it.

"There's tons of houses around, I'm sure we could go ask someone." Chat suggested, watching Ladybug with a curious expression. This wasn't their typical situation to land themselves in, sure they had crazy adventures, but outside of Paris?

Let alone in another dimension.

Ladybug only shook her head, "We don't know what people will be like, let alone if they speak English or French."

"English, French _or_ Chinese." He gave a rather proud grin, glad he had something more to bring to the table that he had learnt outside of the whole superhero thing.

Ladybug blinked and nodded, deciding she'd ask about why he knew Chinese in the first place later and why it seemed sort of familiar. He had probably already mentioned it before, "Alright, alright. We don't know if they speak any of those three languages. Though… If we needed to translate anything, lucky charm might help us out. I'll just have to run off after for a moment."

Good thing she always carried around a cookie or two for Tikki. She'd be able to bring them the translator, quickly translate and then go feed the small Kwami.

Chat grinned ear to ear, he wouldn't have thought of using Lucky Charm outside of combat. Ah, his Lady was truly remarkable. He strolled alongside his partner as she led him up to a friendly enough looking house, knocking gently on the door.

She blinks as a young blonde girl stands across from them, looking incredibly confused.

"Sorry," Ladybug quickly speaks as the door was answered, "What town are we in now? My map isn't quite working."

The blonde girl was still confused, seeing the two kids dressed up in such a fashion with masks. "Resembool," She replies calmly, glancing from the Ladybug to the Cat, these kids had to be at least fourteen, maybe fifteen. "Where are you trying to go?" She inquired, figuring the two didn't mean to come to their small town. They probably got off at the wrong station.

"Paris." Chat Noir chimed before Ladybug sighed. They didn't even know if Paris existed here… Resembool certainly didn't exist back home.

Surely enough, the girl shook her head, "I've never heard of that place before, sorry."

Ladybug quickly nodded, "That's alright. Thank you for your time, regardless."

She took Chat Noir by the arm and quickly lead him away, the girl going back into her house shortly after watching them leave.

Ladybug didn't really want to stay too long and give away their 'alienness' to this place, they already sort of did wearing these somewhat ridiculous in retrospective suits.

Chat Noir doesn't complain as his partner lead him by the arm back to there previous spot and raises an eyebrow behind his mask.

"So, what now, bugaboo?" The blond boy asked his leading lady, who didn't hesitate to respond with a plan in the making.

"We find somewhere to stay, see if we can find any others and find out what we can about this world for now. I can see a train station not so far away from here, I say we ride it and… Well, as bad as it may sound, eavesdrop. We need to find out what's happening, what's current and more about where we are."

Chat Noir couldn't help but smile again, "Brilliant as ever, my lady."

Ladybug simply rolled her eyes before heading to the station with him, as they waited the two superheroes glanced at one another.

There wasn't really a way to get out of here as of now. Well, Ladybug could see one possible way, but it wouldn't do them much good.

If they used their miraculous together for a wish, they could go back. However, someone will just replace their spots and they don't exactly know what this world holds yet.

Plus, Ladybug wasn't exactly eager to reveal her identity to her partner or find out his by having one of them use the other's miraculous, not when Hawkmoth was still around it just wasn't safe.

Besides, Master Fu had always stressed about the consequences of using the miraculous for a wish.

If something is gained, something of equal value must be taken.

Thus, is the law of Equivalent Exchange.

((A/N: Edited Paragraphs as per review suggestion. Hope this is nicer to read now 3 ))


	2. Chapter One: That's How Cookies Crumble

Ladybug looked around the train as they sat, the train wasn't as full as she would have liked it to have been.

It would certainly make eavesdropping a lot harder, however, it was nice to know they weren't going to be questioned for their odd attire or stared at. It would be so much easier to go around as civilians but that was just out of the question. They couldn't jeopardize their identities like that.

Splitting up wasn't an idea she was too fond of either.

She had no idea how this place worked and their devices clearly didn't work as they should, who knew if their cell phones would even work here. Let alone what the roaming charges would be like.

She quickly gave a shake of her head and crossed her legs. She needed to find a way to make this work. They wouldn't be able to stay in costume the whole time, she didn't know how long this mission would even take.

"Ladybug, have you ever heard of Central?" Chat's voice snapped her back into reality. She shook her head while raising an eyebrow from underneath her mask "I found this map when we were boarding, that's where we just left from. Resembool. This line goes all the way to some place called Central." He continued, turning the map towards her and pointing at the two locations with his gloved hand. "It's bigger than all the other places on the map, so it must be the capital, right?"

"That would make sense," She agreed before examining the map a bit more. None of the names on the map rang any bells. She didn't recall ever learning about any of them. Plus, she was fairly certain that in their world there was no country known as 'Amestris.'

"It'll be for the best if we head there. We'll be able to get the most information. But… We need to come up with something, I don't think sticking out is something we want to be doing right now." She replied briefly after.

Chat gave a brief nod, a thoughtful expression crossing his face as he tapped his own chin, "Going civillian could-"

"No, Chat."

"Hey, hey. Let me finish." The superhero gave a small but friendly huff at his spotted companion, "The train is pretty large, divided in different cabins. We find somewhere to detransform, sit in separate cabins and do some researching on our own. We set a time and meet back at the station at a certain time, back in costume."

"Splitting up doesn't sound like the best idea right now, Chat." She paused for a moment however, taking what he had suggested into consideration.

It wasn't an awful plan.

Even if it wasn't perfect and she didn't fully agree with it, she would have to admit it was sort of their best option here. "Though, we don't have much of a choice, do we?" She stands up, dusting herself off before glancing around, planning out where she could go. Maybe three or so cabins down so they don't bump into each other by accident. She trusted Chat not to go looking for her.

"Back at the station before midnight."

Chat nodded and flashes her a smile, "Understood. See you then, m'lady."

Ladybug couldn't help but return a smile to her partner, quickly heading off. She makes her way to an empty cabin and crouches down, releasing her transformation before moving and taking a seat.

She looks at Tikki as she emerged, the small Kwami having an expression of worry as she looked up to her holder. "Marinette, this place doesn't feel right. We have to get back as soon as we can."

The young girl gave Tikki a soft smile, scooping her up into a hug. "I know, Tikki. We'll get back soon. The akuma will have to show up sooner or later and then we can catch it and change everything back to normal again."

The kwami gave a firm nod before nuzzling against Marinette. After the gesture was completed she zoomed back into Marinette's bag to wait.

The ride was rather long and boring. Marinette, being rather worn out from the day's events, drifted off with her head resting against the side of the window.

"What do you mean you don't have any cheese on you?" Plagg's grumpy voice emerged as Chat Noir de-transformed back into Adrien. "I'm absolutely famished."

"I'm sorry Plagg, but you can't exactly blame me. You always eat the cheese I pack for you before we even transform. You know that's there for emergencies right?" Adrien spoke softly to the Kwami to avoid being heard by other passengers, but his eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly.

"It was an emergency Adrien." The kwami whined, dropping his arms to his sides as he stared up at his holder, "Besides, you can't expect me to resist such a temptation. The smell of Camembert? In all of it's cheesy gooey-ness? Right in front of me, during your boring classes?"

Adrien just shook his head and leaned back in his seat, "We'll figure out something, Plagg. I'm sure there's still cheese somewhere in this place." He chuckled softly at Plagg's less than amused expression.

They'd figure something out, he was sure. If worst comes to worst he could just find something else for Plagg to snack on. He could eat other things too but boy was his kwami ever stubborn.

As Plagg simmered down a bit, the blond boy decided to take a nap, knowing that they had a long road ahead of them.

Once off in Central he wanted to do as much exploring as he possibly could. Hopefully they could find out enough about this world to at least get started on finding a way back. Though, he didn't think they would be stuck here for too long. Hawkmoth would probably have the akuma follow after them. His goal was to take their miraculous after all, not just get rid of them. When the time comes, they'd be ready to purify it and head back home.

He just really hoped Father, Nathalie and Gorilla weren't too worried.

Then again, it was possible they hadn't even realized he was missing just yet.

The train soon comes to a halt and Adrien stretches out, covering his mouth as he yawned. Plagg quickly flew into his jacket and he stood up in one swift motion. He makes his way to the exit of the train and steps out onto the platform, his eyes widening slightly as he looked around. This place definitely had to be a major city centre.

It was crazy busy.

He couldn't help but notice everyone's attire. There seemed to be a bunch of men scattered around in blue uniforms, which he could only assume meant these were law enforcers of some sort. No one really seemed to be wearing very detailed clothing. It seemed like the common trend here was wearing solid colors. No graphic shirts with designs on them.

He knew they had been sent to a parallel world and all that, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was a separate time all together. Everything just seemed pretty old fashioned. Not just what people were wearing either, but the station itself. It wasn't dirty, but it wasn't clean either. The floor was some type of stone and the ceiling like structure above them seemed to be made of metal. It felt incomplete, but there was no signs of further construction.

He shrugged slightly to himself before beginning his walk, heading in the opposite direction he suspected Ladybug would take as he didn't want to accidentally run into her.

Well, he did.

But, he shouldn't.

So he won't.

Adrien exited the station and continued to walk without a real destination in mind. He makes a mental note of the path he was taking so he'd be able to make his way back to the station later to meet with his partner again. It was already fairly late so he wouldn't have a whole lot of time to get this done.

Hopefully, there would be little to no interruptions-.

And, he jinxed it.

"What-!?" He gasped out, quickly stumbling back as what seemed like a giant iceberg came bolting down the street, barely missing him.

"Another akuma-? Is that even possible?" He tensed as he looked up, seeing the sky. It almost looked like there were red lightning bolts coming down from different parts of the city.

Plagg tensed slightly as he looked around. Something was very wrong here, he could feel it. Something much worse than an akuma. But, the energy, it didn't seem to be coming from the sky or these ice structures. He couldn't pinpoint it. "Hey, be careful, kid-"

"Plagg," He cut him off, knowing they needed to get into action sooner than later, "Claws out!"

Adrien transformed without much hesitation, allowing for Chat Noir to quickly volt up to the rooftops using his baton. His eyes widen as he watched multiple iceberg-like creations heading for the center of the city, where a small fortress seemed to be placed. Someone must have it in for whatever group's there.

He quickly volts across building to building, freezing as he saw something stranger occur. Another young blond was soaring from the ground, being lifted on a rock as a platform and ever-so-gracefully landing right on the iceberg as well. Soon followed by a large suit of armor, doing the same.

Chat blinked a few times while watching the three men. None of them looked like they've been akumatized, even the one in the suit of armor. They all seemed normal, despite… Well, one having ice powers and the other two having rock abilities.

He hesitantly kneels down, deciding to stay out of view for just a moment to try and decipher what exactly was going on.

The short blond knelt down while on the iceberg, in front of the suit of armor. He clapped his arms together as if to pray but then quickly placed them both flat down against the ice. The structure from in front of them and onwards, where the taller man stood began to crumble.

Chat's eyes only widened. Another with the power of destruction? They weren't wielding the miraculous. Was this sort of thing just normal in this world? He really wished he could make out what they were all saying.

Especially since the suit of armor literally just had his helmet blown off and seemed to be perfectly fine.

Chat felt his stomach drop as the taller man was sent barreling down the structure, the two others sliding down to chase. He gripped his baton a bit tighter and nervously stood.

They never exactly fought against other humans. They fought against akumas, damage they could reverse. But something like this? It was a little out of the comfort zone.

His eyes widened as the man who had fallen went to reach out, something beginning to shoot through his arm but before it could make contact with the short man in the red trench coat something flew down at him, yanking and throwing the attack off-aim.

Ladybug.

She yanked her yoyo tightly, forcing the man to raise his arm, allowing for the young male to dodge the attack. The man in the trench coat traced the line of the yo-yo, staring up at Ladybug in pure confusion.

The suit of armor somehow appeared to be confused as well, which was strange in and of itself.

"Whatever's going on, that's quite enough." She spoke firmly from the rooftop across from them.

The man only clenched his fist in response, giving a hard yank and pulling Ladybug down from the roof, forcing her to release her hold on him to catch herself and swing across to the other side, blinking as she landed beside Chat Noir, not having realized he was already here.

The man made a break for it, using the newcomers as a distraction. The armored man and red coated male stared up at the two strangely dressed children.

Ladybug frowned as she glanced around, taking in everything. The ice was beginning to coat the sides of the fortress like building and it was only a matter of time before it froze over. Without hesitating she raised her yo-yo up to the sky, calling upon a lucky charm.

Chat crooked an eyebrow from behind his mask as he saw a small cookie land in Ladybug's hand. "Are you hungry, M'lady? Now isn't really a good time for a snack."

Ladybug paused looking at the cookie for a moment and then glancing down at the two who were staring in shock up at them. The short blond boy in the red trench coat was staring, seemingly focused on Ladybug and the sudden appearance of a cookie out of thin air.

There was a clap with a resounding ringing and within moments they had a young man raising himself up towards the roof with an increasingly determined expression.

"I think that's the Lucky Charm's way of saying, stay out of it." Ladybug slowly spoke, realizing the cookie was probably a symbol for Tikki. Given the fact she always gave the Kwami a cookie after transforming.

"I think that's our cue to leave, then?" Chat inquired, already stepping back as the man was soon approaching.

"Definitely." Ladybug turned on her heel and whipped her yo-yo out before swinging away, followed closely by Chat Noir who used his baton and the two others from the earlier chaotic scene.

They weren't really expecting to be chased by some short man and a suit of armor over a cookie.

(( A/N: Next Chapter will be a proper introduction of Ed and Al. It'll be up by next Tuesday. I won't make ya'll wait another year. I kinda posted as a one off and forgot about it ovo" But I'm inspired and sort of want to finish a story for once. So this'll be the one. Owo ))


	3. Chapter Two: A New Home

Ladybug quickly continued to swing herself across Central with her partner, Chat Noir, following fast on her heels with the use of his own baton. The two men were still following them and they couldn't quite seem to shake them off.

Ladybug was starting to grow a bit nervous. She only had about five minutes before she would transform back and if they couldn't shake off these two following them, then they'd have an entirely new issue on their hands in addition to everything going on currently.

"Get back here you little insect!" The shorter of the two following them shouted out, clapping his hands with a resounding ring as he created a new pillar to continue chasing them on.

"Ed, maybe we should try a different approach-?"

"Not now, Al!" Ed furrowed his eyebrows as he kept up the chase, "You two! The Philosopher's stone, I know you have one! Two kids shouldn't be messing around with something like that. Where the hell did you manage to find one anyway!?"

Sure, Edward had only seen them create a small cookie and they seemed to be in possession of a yo-yo and a baton that knew of no limits in terms of extending and force, but he was absolutely sure of it. They had to have had the stone, at the very least one. Likely two, if they were both doing such strange things. There was no equivalent exchange in what they were doing, no rebounds either. So clearly, the energy had to be coming from somewhere.

Ladybug tensed up and continued to flee, not taking the chance to look back at their two followers. The Philosopher's stone? Was that supposed to be some kind of equivalent to the Miraculous here?

If so, that was bad news for them. Other people had strange abilities here too and they seemed to be after their Miraculous. Akuma and Hawkmoth were more than enough trouble to keep them busy, but now they had to worry about random civilians trying to get their hands on them too?

Chat Noir jumped down onto one of the buildings and glanced at Ladybug, winking in her direction. "M'Lady, purrhaps you should go on ahead and meet back after you've had the chance to recharge." He stretches out, preparing as the two were still coming towards them.

His plan was simple. Distract the two from Ladybug to allow her to detransform and let her Kwami gain back their strength. Considering the beeping coming from Ladybug's earrings and the fact that they had two minutes at most left before she transformed back, he was fairly certain she wouldn't complain too much about his plan.

Which, she wouldn't.

She couldn't even if she wanted to.

In the perfect scenario she wouldn't be leaving her partner with two strangers in some parallel world but after coming this far there was no chance she'd be allowing her secret identity to be revealed so easily. After this, she'd have to keep Ladybug's appearances minimal. She'd have to make a plan with Chat so they could stay in communication but running around in this world as superheroes was only going to get them into trouble.

She was fairly sure the lucky charm's suggestion wasn't just pertaining to this incident. Whatever was going on and whatever would happen here, in this world, they weren't to meddle with. They shouldn't get involved.

A strong feeling of unease swept over her as she noticed the ice disappearing from around them as well as the lightning that appeared red in the sky. Shouldn't that be relieving to see? Why was it so unsettling for it to all go away?

Ladybug figorously shook her head to snap herself out of it, "Careful, kitty!" She called before quickly diving down, swinging out her yo-yo and bolting off in a different direction.

The two despite their chasing seemed to have no malicious intent. Chat Noir would be able to handle them. Besides, she'd be back in no time.

Edward clapped his hands together and was about to create a new pillar again, to go after the swinging super hero, however he quickly dodged to the side as Chat Noir swung his baton towards him.

Alphonse watched as the red suited girl with black polka dots made her way off, hesitating. He wasn't so sure that they should be chasing these kids in the first place or if they even really had what they were looking for. But Ed had seemed so sure.

"You know, it's pretty rude to follow people. Cat got your tongue, or can you explain why exactly you're chasing after us?" He withdrew his baton as he spoke to the two brothers, watching them carefully. He needed to hold their attention and distract them.

Might as well see what he can find out in the meantime as well.

"I said it once already," Edward huffed, watching the strangely dressed kid before crossing his arms slightly. "The Philosopher's stone. Why do you have one."

Chat shrugged his shoulders, standing his ground. "Neither of us even know what a philosopher's stone is."

"Don't play dumb with me," Edward began to growl, but was quickly cut off by Alphonse.

"The philosopher's stone. It's supposed to be a powerful stone that helps to waive the need of equivalent exchange in alchemy. Isn't that how your friend made that treat appear earlier?"

Chat Noir blinked three slow times over. "Alchemy? Neither of us are alchemists." He read about the study of alchemy before, it was a form of chemistry. "Is that… What you two are?"

If they answered yes, then… This world must really revolve around it. These two were chasing them for nearly five minutes, creating and extending material to do so. Was that alchemy in this world?

"Well, there's no such thing as magic, so how the hell was it done then?" Edward scoffed, interrupting the two's conversation before answering the question.

Edward had a million questions of his own he was wanting to ask. One of the less important ones being about their silly costumes and weapons they had but that would have to wait until later.

Chat Noir merely shrugged off the question, much to Edward's frustration.

"Ed," Alphonse began, peeking down at his annoyed older brother, "Maybe this can wait. We should see if they've caught up to Isaac first.. We aren't getting anywhere here."

Edward turned to the armored boy and shook his head, pointing in the direction of Chat Noir. "Al, why would we drop our only lead? What they did would have only been possible with a philosopher's stone. I'm not going to just drop this and not ask!"

Alphonse sighed and rubbed the back of his armored head. "I don't think you can ask anymore."

Edward turned and let out a frustrated yell, "Where the hell is he!?" The feline hero had made a run for it. Ed and Alphonse quickly ran off to search for him and the spotted girl, running past a young blonde boy with green eyes and not so long after, a blue haired girl with pigtails.

Marinette sighed in relief as she saw the two running off in search of them. Chat must have finally gotten away as well, then. They really shouldn't draw anymore attention to themselves here.

The rules of this universe were different yet they seemed to still be able to break them. Which definitely wasn't something they should actively try to do. They didn't want the civilians here getting confused or having others after them as well for some kind of stone. Marinette could lay low and if the lucky charm had any say in it, Ladybug would stay under the radar. It just wouldn't be safe here.

Tikki peaked up at Marinette from her little purse, tilting her small head at her master. "I think we should listen to the lucky charm this time, Marinette. Earlier when the lightning died down, I felt something. It was unsettling." She made a face before glancing around, just barely poking her head out of the small clothed accessory. "Ladybug and Chat Noir don't need to get involved here."

The small kwami lowered herself back into Marinette's purse. She didn't want Marinette going around as Ladybug here, which was fairly out of character for the encouraging and optimistic kwami. She didn't want Marinette getting herself hurt and if the energy she felt earlier was anything to go off of, this world wasn't as forgiving as their own.

Marinette nodded in response to Tikki but primarily to show she was listening. If someone needed assistance she would still become Ladybug, it didn't matter where she was. Her duty was to the people, to help them. She could only hope Tikki wouldn't be too annoyed if that time ever comes.

"But what about Chat Noir, Tikki?" She paused as she turned around, glancing down to where the kwami hid. Chat was probably waiting to meet back up again, if she didn't return then the cat might start to-

"I'm sure Plagg will tell him the same as I did." She shook her head, "He definitely would have felt that negative energy as well. It really will be for the best for you both to blend in. Maybe in the meantime we should just keep a lookout for others from our world? Make that our focus until we return to Paris, instead of getting involved in the affairs here."

"Tikki, this place is huge. The map we looked at earlier, it's a whole new country. If we didn't see anyone back where Chat and I originally landed then they could be anywhere here. The chances of finding someone else is pretty much-"

"Marinette?"

Marinette let out a startled noise and turns on her heel in one swift motion, nearly tripping over her own foot. Tikki quickly closing up the bag to properly hide and stay out of sight. "A-Adrien-? Is that- You're stuck here too?"

What were the chances of that? For him to end up here, to be the first person she ran into?

Adrien offered a nervous smile as he walked forward, over to his classmate. "Yeah, that akuma really made a mess of things. Are you alright?"

"Alright? Yes, I'm fine." She smiled timidly in return before glancing around, "I was just trying to see if I could find anyone else, but then this huge ice wall was passing by so, I came down here. You, uh.. Have you found anyone else yet?"

The model shook his head, "You're the only one I've run into so far." He paused as he noticed her concerned expression, quickly adding on, "Well, I'm pretty sure I also saw Ladybug and Chat Noir flying around not too long ago. So, things will probably be back to normal soon."

Marinette gave a nod but only felt less at ease. Everyone would be relying on Ladybug and Chat Noir to fix this but. They didn't have any idea how they would get back. They needed the akuma to show up here, but. Who knows what kind of issues that in itself would cause? They didn't even know if the akuma sent everyone to the same parallel world.

To get back home, if the akuma never appeared, then. They'd probably have to play by this world's rules.

"Marinette?" Adrien spoke up again, a bit concerned as she seemed to be off in her own world, not hearing his previous question.

"Oh! Yes! I, what, sorry?" She quickly apologized and looked up at him, shaking off her current train of thought.

"I said we should probably find someplace to stay for the night, don't know if the streets are exactly the safest place to be. Would it be alright if we stayed together?" He shifted slightly, not wanting to overstep. "I just, figured it would be better than for us to both be stuck here alone."

He mostly wanted to stay with her for two reasons. One being that he honestly didn't want to be wandering alone here as a civilian, the second being that if anything did arise he wanted to be able to protect his friend.

The young girl quickly nodded, her expression softening a bit as she felt a little more at ease in his presence. Usually being around him made her so high sprung and jumpy because of her overwhelming crush, but at the core of things he was her friend. A good friend, too. She knew she'd be able to count on him and she wanted him to know he could count on her. "Of course, Adrien." She gave a reassuring smile before glancing down the street. "We'll find somewhere for the night and then make a plan."

Adrien smiled and gave a solid nod, "Sounds good to me."

Marinette relaxed as she turned to lead the way, Adrien moves to follow by her side. Just as they were about to head down a different street a voice called behind them, causing them both to jump.

"Hey! What are you two youngsters doing out so late? It isn't safe to being wandering around here."

Adrien and Marinette both exchanged a glance before nervously turning around.

A tall man stood their in an odd attire, what they had earlier assumed to be this world's version of a police uniform. He had black hair, glasses and a very kind expression on his face.

"After the incident that just went down, I don't feel comfortable allowing you two to just head off on your own. Where are the both of you heading?" He adjusted his glasses as he watched the two young kids. As a Father himself, he couldn't help but worry. After all, if his little Elicia was ever caught out like this he would always hope that there would be someone to help her as well. It was his way of paying it forward.

"Uhm, actually.." Marinette began, unsure if they should really try to explain to this stranger that they had no place to stay.

"We were just looking for a place to stay, actually." Adrien spoke up without much hesitation. "If you could point us in the right direction to a hostel or such, we'd really appreciate that." He figured if they could find a hostel they could likely help out in exchange for a night's rest. It would be easier to do such than try and set up an arrangement with a hotel.

The older man blinked as he watched the two. Two kids without a place to stay, in the middle of Central City right after an attack like that of the Frozen Alchemist? What they needed was somewhere safe to stay. He was sure Gracia wouldn't mind two young guests. Additionally, he wanted to find out why these two were wandering out on their own without a place to stay.

The man became serious for a moment as he stepped forward, "Then it's decided. The two of you will stay with me."

Adrien blinked as he turned to look at Marinette. Perhaps he had done the wrong thing by explaining their situation.

"You'll stay with me, and…" He whipped something out of his pocket, causing both the kids to jump with a shout. However, the man was simply holding an overly large wallet full of pictures of a girl and woman. "My beautiful wife and wonderful daughter! Gracia and Elicia~! Look at them? Aren't they just the cutest!?" The man was beaming with absolute joy and pride as he showed them pictures.

Marinette felt a bit more at ease as the man dropped whatever facade he had before. It was a little ridiculous, but quite adorable. Seeing this grown man absolutely swooning over his wife and daughter. He must be a good man. Probably one they'd be fine with trusting. He reminded her of her own dad in a way. Very proud and encouraging. Genuinely happy.

Adrien watched as the man continued to gush over his family, beginning to lead himself and Marinette down the street while still talking without slowing down. He really cared about them and wasn't afraid to show it. His first impression of the older man was that he was genuine and had a big heart. He must be an amazing dad.

He couldn't help but wonder if his own Father ever spoke like this when he wasn't around.

((A/N: I love hughes ;-; can we keep him? Also somehow made my deadline of tuesday. Next tuesday again, at latest. See you then. ))


	4. Chapter Three: Settling In

"What do you mean, 'You don't know where he is'!?" Gabriel raised his voice as he spoke to Adrien's bodyguard, dubbed 'Gorilla'. The large man seemed disappointed in himself and a layer of worry was plastered on his face. He didn't speak however, simply enduring Gabriel's upset rage.

Though, the Agreste's own worry and nerves were reaching an all new high. His son was missing and he, or rather Hawkmoth, was possibly to blame for this. His newest akuma, the one he assured himself would be the one to finally bring Ladybug and Chat Noir to their knees, likely managed to do more than he intended.

He had dismissed his transformation while the akuma was still out to continue setting up some steps towards another plan he had in mind, as Gabriel. He had left his akuma to run amuck through Paris, trusting that this one would find Ladybug and Chat Noir and then bring him their miraculous. Everything had backfired. Ladybug and Chat Noir were sent to some other universe and to make everything much, much, worse...

His son was missing.

That feeling in the pit of his stomach, eating away at him?

It was guilt.

It was his fault.

He couldn't just call off the akuma now, the damage was already done. His son, if his assumption was correct, was likely sent off to some strange new world. By himself.

Gabriel couldn't bare the thought of his son being lost on his own. He had their home built as a fortress to protect him, a bodyguard to chauffeur him around and an assistant who would make sure his needs were met as Gabriel lived a busy double life.

This was the last thing he would ever want to happen. First his wife, now his son.

He needed to make things right.

Nathalie watched Gabriel from the door of his office as he angrily dismissed Gorilla, who silently left to continue his search. She stepped in, carefully closing the door behind herself before approaching Gabriel who was pacing with great unease.

"Sir, please." Nathalie spoke up, causing Gabriel to look towards her. His expression unwavering, "There's a chance Adrien is just hiding here somewhere. He's a smart and strong kid. I'm sure wherever he is, he's safe."

"A chance isn't good enough, Nathalie." Gabriel quickly replied, furrowing his brows at her. "My son is missing and if that akuma is what caused him to go missing, there's no way of return. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't around to revert my akuma's damage."

"Yes, but, wherever he was sent, Ladybug and Chat Noir exist there as well. Which,"

"Which is why I need to go after them." He cut her off before she could finish her sentence, not even saying what she was planning on saying. Rather, taking it in a whole new direction entirely.

"Mr. Agreste," She began, shaking her head.

"No, Nathalie. I'm not going to stand for this. I'm going to find my son and I'm going to bring him home." He raised his voice, the tall walls he built cracking around him as his emotions snuck through. "No more of… Of this. I'm going there and bringing my son home. I can't bring her back… But I'm not about to lose him too."

Nathalie opened her mouth to speak again but Gabriel simply continued, "After this, there will be no more Hawkmoth. My own son… I've put him in danger how many times now? All to bring her back. But what's the point in bringing her back if I'm going to lose him in the process, Nathalie?"

If he hasn't already lost him.

Not only had he been a terrible father, but.

Who knows what kind of danger that parallel world held.

"I understand, sir." She spoke calmly, giving him a firm nod. "But I can't let you go alone."

He paused in his step again to stare at her, "You are not coming along Nathalie. This is my mess to fix."

She only furrowed her brows, keeping her voice stern, "I told you once already sir, I'll always be there for you. No matter what you choose."

-Meanwhile, in a parallel world-

Adrien and Marinette both followed the officer silently as he led them, continuing to happily tell stories of his child to the two. The two parisians felt rather comfortable in his presence, which was quite nice to have in this strange new place. He was far too kind to them already and the fact that he was giving them a place to stay was amazing. They'd have to find a way to thank him later.

Hughes, as he had introduced himself earlier, carefully lead them up to the apartment and opened the door. A little girl answered it with the help of her mother before quickly jumping onto her father with a big hug. "Daddy! Your home!" She happily giggled.

Hughes didn't even hesitate to scoop his little girl into a big hug, chuckling happily as he snuggled his precious daughter.

Gracia giggled softly watching him and paused as she noticed the two children behind him. She didn't need a huge explanation as she new Maes would explain within time. Instead of questioning the children or making them feel uneasy she simply steps aside and gestures for all of them to come inside.

"Dinner's already on the table. I'll scoop up another two plates for our guests." She smiled at Marinette and Adrien softly, only making them feel even more at home.

Hughes carried his daughter over to the table before setting her down, "You and your Mommy sure worked hard didn't you? I bet this tastes delicious." He hummed happily before taking a seat as well, the others all following suit.

Gracia carefully placed a plate in front of Marinette and Adrien, both giving her a polite 'thank you' before accepting it. She smiled softly before looking at Hughes, who then turned to the two. He waited until they had a few bites and relaxed more before beginning conversation once again.

"So, what were you two really doing out there?" He asked, not in an assuming way but with a soft and careful voice. He assumed they weren't out there by their own intent, given the fact they hadn't had a place to stay. Either kicked out or running away. Those were his two guesses.

What followed was absolute gibberish as the two began trying to create an excuse, neither one matching up until the last few words.

Hughes simply shook his head and leaned back slightly in his chair, adjusting his glasses. "You don't need to be so nervous with us. No matter your answer we aren't going to just toss you back out there. You're our guests for now. I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't trust you. Now I just need the two of you to trust us."

Marinette nervously lowered her head for a moment, chewing on the inner part of her cheek before looking up at Hughes once again. "We… Well, we're lost. We aren't really from here."

Adrien nodded, deciding to chime in to help his friend explain their situation. Well, as much as they could without actually sounding insane. "We can't go back home either. Not yet and likely not for a little while."

The young blue haired girl nodded as she glanced at Adrien before looking at Hughes again and then Gracia. "We really appreciate you letting us stay here for the night. I promise we'll figure something out so we don't overstay."

Gracia frowned, putting down her cup. "Nonsense. You both can stay here as long as you need. We have a guest room, might as well put it to some good use."

Hughes nodded in agreement, "Affirmative. That is, as long as the two of you can help Gracia with some chores around the house as well?"

Marinette quickly nodded, smiling sheepishly. "We'd love to help out but... Are you sure this is okay?"

Gracia watched Marinette for a moment before allowing her expression to soften, "Of course it's alright, dear. I don't mind a little company. Besides, I could also use the extra help around here."

"So, it's settled!" Hughes announced, clapping his hands together, "Welcome to your home away from home."

Marinette looked to Adrien. The two of them felt surprisingly relaxed given all the circumstances of this situation. They felt right at home here.

"Thank you both so much." Adrien spoke up again, smiling rather shyly as he did. They were similar to Marinette's parents, he noted. Very warm and welcoming.

Gracia just smiled, "Now. Let's all eat before it gets cold. Then we'll get the two of you set up for the night. I just washed everything earlier today, since we had a pair of guests the past few days as well, so it'll be nice and comfortable for you two."

Marinette gave a smile and nod before finishing her dinner. Immediately after everyone was finished she stands up and begins to collect plates. Adrien stands up to help her as well but Gracia takes the plates away from the two and shakes her head.

"Rest first. You two must have had a long day. I can use some help around here tomorrow." She watched the two before looking at Hughes, who nodded and stood up.

"Follow me and I'll show you both to the room."

Hughes led them into a medium sized room. There were two decently sized beds with a simple nightstand in between them. Marinette carefully headed in and sat down on the bed closest to the door.

"Thank you again, Mr. Hughes. You didn't have to do any of this."

Adrien nodded in agreement as he took the further bed. "We really appreciate all of this."

The man simply smiled, "Don't mention it. It's nice to have company. The two of you rest well. If you ever need to talk, don't be afraid to see Gracia or myself. Now, have a goodnight."

"Goodnight Mr. Hughes." The two chimed together.

"Hughes is fine." He chuckled before turning the light off for them and gently closing the door.

Adrien plopped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment, just taking everything in. He couldn't believe their luck. To run into someone so kind and someone that was literally willing to house them in exchange for help around the house? They were crazy sweet.

Marinette had rolled onto her stomach to put her face in her pillow as she was more or less falling back into her panicky self.

Everything was surprisingly nice about this disaster of a situation but now she was stuck more or less sleeping over with her crush.

What if she said something weird in her sleep?

What if she confessed to him?

What if she told him about their future hamster?

She could practically hear Tikki in her head, telling her not to worry about all this now.

Imaginary Tikki was right. There was far more important things at hand.

"Marinette?"

"Yes, Adrien?" She paused, turning her head to look over at him.

"I'm glad we bumped into each other."

There was something off about his voice. Something she hadn't quite heard before.

"I'm glad too, Adrien." She paused before deciding to reassure him, "We'll be home before we know it… But, in the meantime. Let's do our best to help Gracia and Hughes." It was the least they could do. Plus, it would be a nice distraction for them both.

"Yeah, you're right. We'll do our best. Goodnight, Mari."

There it was. She could hear his smile in his voice again.

"Goodnight."

((A/N: I know not a lot happened here but things shall start accelerating from here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless uwu The story won't be following FMAB super tightly but I'm trying to keep the timeline somewhat in order but sorry if there's any inconsistencies. ))


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